writing inclusively · • make the presentation as multi-sensory as possible. use audio-visual...

Disability and Dyslexia Service & Institute of Dentistry

Writing inclusively. V7 12 12 2019.

Dominic Hurst, Simon Jarvis and Ashleigh Brownsmith.

Writing inclusively

Guidelines for inclusive writing and formatting of print and digital

instructional material

Dominic Hurst, Simon Jarvis and Ashleigh Brownsmith

December 2019

Version 7



Dominic Hurst, Simon Jarvis and Ashleigh Brownsmith. 1

Contents

1 Background ......................................................................................................... 3

2 Scope of guidelines ............................................................................................. 4

3 Guidelines ............................................................................................................ 5

3.1 Documents .................................................................................................... 5

3.1.1 Documents: Media .................................................................................. 5

3.1.2 Documents: Font .................................................................................... 6

3.1.3 Documents: Headings and Emphasis. .................................................... 7

3.1.4 Documents: Layout ................................................................................. 8

3.1.5 Documents: Writing Style ....................................................................... 9

3.1.6 Documents: Increasing accessibility ..................................................... 10

3.1.7 Documents: Checking Readability ........................................................ 13

3.1.8 Documents: Preparing for text-reading software .................................. 14

3.2 PowerPoint .................................................................................................. 16

3.2.1 PowerPoint: General ............................................................................ 16




3.2.2 PowerPoint: Media ............................................................................... 17

3.2.3 PowerPoint: Text .................................................................................. 18

3.2.4 PowerPoint: Colour & visuals ............................................................... 19

3.2.5 PowerPoint: Effects .............................................................................. 20

3.2.6 PowerPoint: Layout .............................................................................. 21

4 Accessibility Regulations 2018 .......................................................................... 22

Appendix 1: Avoiding the passive voice ................................................................... 24




1 Background

• Queen Mary University of London has a legal duty to anticipate the

requirements of its disabled staff and students under the terms of the Equality

Act (2010).

• From September 2019, the university also has a duty to ensure that its digital

content is as accessible as its physical estate.

• The following guidelines have been produced to enable colleagues to prepare

and produce written instructional materials that allow all our students to learn

at a level commensurate with their ability.

• The guidelines will help the university comply with accessibility legislation and

to realise its stated strategic objectives of being 'truly inclusive'.

• We have produced these guidelines with reference to best practice in the

Higher Education sector, including guidance from the British Dyslexia

Association.

• They have also been produced with reference to the Web Content

Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1AA accessibility standards.

• For more information, see the 'Accessibility' tab on any Queen Mary webpage

(https://www.qmul.ac.uk/site/accessibility/).

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/helping-people-to-use-your-service/understanding-wcag

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/helping-people-to-use-your-service/understanding-wcag

https://www.qmul.ac.uk/site/accessibility/




2 Scope of guidelines

• The Cambridge Dictionary defines guidelines as "information intended to

advise people on how something should be done or what something should

be." https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/guideline.

• The guidance can be used in the preparation of all written documents

including, but not limited to:

• Course handbooks (print or digital).

• Lecture presentations.

• Seminar material.

• We have prepared the guidance for use by all schools at QMUL.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/guideline




3 Guidelines

3.1 Documents

3.1.1 Documents: Media

• Paper should be thick enough to prevent the other side showing through

when placed on a desk or table surface.

• Use matt paper rather than glossy except for photographs.

• Avoid digital print processing, which tends to leave paper shiny.

• All text must be black on a light (not white) background.

• Avoid white backgrounds for paper, computer and visual aids. White can

appear too dazzling. Use cream or a soft pastel colour.

• Some dyslexic people (as well as other specific learning differences) will

have their own colour preference. The Disability and Dyslexia Service may

recommend that students use transparent overlays.




3.1.2 Documents: Font

• Use a plain, evenly spaced sans serif font such as Arial and Comic Sans.

Alternatives include Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, or Trebuchet.

• Font size should be 12-14 point including headers and footers.

• Some dyslexic readers may request a larger font.

• Avoid green and red/pink backgrounds, as these are difficult for colour-blind

individuals.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/change-the-font-size-931e064e-f99f-4ba4-a1bf-8047a35552be




3.1.3 Documents: Headings and Emphasis.

• Avoid underlining and italics: these tend to make the text appear to run

together. Use bold instead.

• AVOID TEXT IN BLOCK CAPITALS: this is much harder to read.

• Use bold to emphasise in the body of a text.

• For electronic documents, use the Headings function in MS Word's Home

ribbon. This provides structure that helps a text-reader read.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-a-heading-3eb8b917-56dc-4a17-891a-a026b2c790f2




3.1.4 Documents: Layout

• Text should be left justified with a ragged right edge.

• Avoid narrow columns (as used in newspapers).

• Lines should not be too long: 60 to 70 characters.

• Avoid cramping material and using long, dense paragraphs: space it out.

• Line spacing should be 1.5 to 2.0 throughout.

• Avoid starting a sentence at the end of a line.

• Use bullet points and numbering rather than continuous prose.

• Avoid using text boxes for formatting.

• Use clear, concise sentences separated by full stops.

• Maintain consistency of formatting throughout.

• All pages should show the page number in the footers.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/align-text-left-or-right-center-text-or-justify-text-on-a-page-70da744d-0f4d-472e-916d-1c42d94dc33f

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/change-the-line-spacing-in-word-04ada056-b8ef-4b84-87dd-5d7c28a85712

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/create-a-bulleted-or-numbered-list-9ff81241-58a8-4d88-8d8c-acab3006a23e

https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/insert-page-numbers-9f366518-0500-4b45-903d-987d3827c007




3.1.5 Documents: Writing Style

• Use short, simple sentences in a direct style.

• Give instructions clearly.

• Avoid long sentences of explanation.

• Use active rather than passive voice. (See appendix for examples.)




3.1.6 Documents: Increasing accessibility

• Flow charts are ideal for explaining procedures.

• A linear explanation should accompany the flow chart to improve

accessibility for anyone with a visual impairment.

• For example, a linear explanation for the flowchart above might be:

"The flow chart shows nine steps involved in restoring a tooth. The steps

are: one, anaesthetise patient; two, place rubber dam; three, access caries;

four, remove caries; five, blank; six, place the restoration; seven, remove

the rubber dam; eight, blank; and, nine, give post-operative instructions."

1. Anaesthetise patient

2. Place rubber dam

3. Access caries

4. Remove caries

5. 6. Place

restoration

7. Remove rubber dam

8. 9. Give post-

operative instructions




• Pictograms and graphics help to locate information.

• A linear explanation should accompany the pictogram or graphic to improve

accessibility for anyone with a visual impairment.




• For example, a linear explanation for the pictogram above might be:

“The pictogram above is titled, “Health in numbers”. It shows the number of

doctors available per one thousand people in Cuba, Spain and Canada. In

Cuba, the number is 5.9 doctors per 1,000. In Spain it is 3.2 doctors per

1,000. In Canada it is 2.1 doctors per 1,000.”.

• Lists of "dos" and "don'ts" are more useful than continuous text to highlight

aspects of good practice.

• Avoid abbreviations if possible.

• When using abbreviations, ensure the full term is used first, followed by the

abbreviation in brackets.

• Alternatively, provide a glossary of abbreviations.




3.1.7 Documents: Checking Readability

• Readability is a measure of how easy a piece of text is to read.

• It can include elements of complexity, familiarity, legibility and typography.

• Readability formulas usually look at factors like sentence length, syllable

density and word familiarity as part of their calculations.

• Readability scores measure whether content is likely to be understood by

your intended reader.

• Learn how to check the readability of your documents here.

• One readability scale is the Flesch Reading Ease score. This rates text on a

100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is to understand the

document.

• A score of around 30-50 would be appropriate for most undergraduates.

• See Rudolf Flesch's explanation of the scale here.

• The Flesch Reading Ease score for this document is 48.

• Check long documents in sections, so that you know which parts are too

hard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readability

https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/get-your-document-s-readability-and-level-statistics-85b4969e-e80a-4777-8dd3-f7fc3c8b3fd2

https://web.archive.org/web/20160712094308/http:/www.mang.canterbury.ac.nz/writing_guide/writing/flesch.shtml




3.1.8 Documents: Preparing for text-reading software

• Listening to a document using a text reader will take longer than visual

reading.

• Put semi-colons, commas, or full stops after bullet points to make a pause.

• Use Styles in Word to organise headings and formatting.

• Styles provide a structure that text-reading software can discern.

• Contents page listings should be hyperlinked to the relevant section to aid

navigation.

• Number items in the contents page.

• Use internal and external hyperlinks for ease of navigation.

• Include as few signs and symbols as possible, e.g. asterisks or dashes

(both short and long). These will be spoken.

• Avoid long dashes to make the voice pause. Use colons instead.

• Use straight quotation marks instead of curly or smart marks. Some screen

readers may read out curly or slanting ones as "back quote".

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/customize-or-create-new-styles-d38d6e47-f6fc-48eb-a607-1eb120dec563

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/change-curly-quotes-to-straight-quotes-and-vice-versa-017963a0-bc5f-486b-9c9d-0ec511a8fb8f




• Avoid Roman Numerals and "No." for number.

• Consider whether abbreviations and acronyms need full stops.

• Avoid text in images. Listeners cannot hear it. Repeat the text from the

image in the main text.

• Include an alt-text description for images.

• Use hyphens in compound words to aid text-reading pronunciation.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-alternative-text-to-a-shape-picture-chart-smartart-graphic-or-other-object-44989b2a-903c-4d9a-b742-6a75b451c669




3.2 PowerPoint

3.2.1 PowerPoint: General

• Dim lighting in the room to reduce glare.

• Make the slides available beforehand on QMPlus.

• Print slides three to a page on pastel or cream paper.

• Leave slides up long enough for slower readers to process the content.

• Make the presentation as multi-sensory as possible. Use audio-visual

elements to reinforce information.

• Microsoft have produced a short video called, "Designing slides for people

with dyslexia".

• A QMUL and IoD-branded PowerPoint template is available to download [link

to webpage].

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/videoplayer/embed/RWfC6J?pid=ocpVideo0-innerdiv-oneplayer&postJsllMsg=true&maskLevel=20&market=en-ie




3.2.2 PowerPoint: Media

• Dark text on a pastel background works best.

• Dark blue text on cream suits many students with dyslexia.

• Be consistent in your use of font, colour and background.

• Include an alt-text description for images.

• Use images to break up text.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-alternative-text-to-a-shape-picture-chart-smartart-graphic-or-other-object-44989b2a-903c-4d9a-b742-6a75b451c669




3.2.3 PowerPoint: Text

• Use a sans-serif font, such as Tahoma, Arial or Verdana.

• Use a large font size. 22- 26pt is ideal.

• Avoid too much variation in font style and size.

• Use bold for emphasis, rather than highlighting, underlining or italicising.

• Align text to the left or centrally.

• Do not justify both sides.

• Avoid text which is angled or uses special effects, such as shadows.




3.2.4 PowerPoint: Colour & visuals

• Avoid colour combinations which may cause visual stress, such as green and

red.

• Present information diagrammatically. SmartArt can be useful for this.

• Avoid slide designs with patterned backgrounds.

• Place images alongside text, rather than behind it.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/create-a-smartart-graphic-fac94c93-500b-4a0a-97af-124040594842




3.2.5 PowerPoint: Effects

• Stagger the release of complex information by using the Appear function to

gradually reveal bullet points or elements in SmartArt.

• Avoid complex visual effects.

• Moving, flashing or dissolving images and graphics are distracting and cause

visual distortion.

• Keep slide transitions consistent and simple.




3.2.6 PowerPoint: Layout

• Keep slides clear, simple and uncrowded.

• Use minimal text by:

• Covering one subject per slide.

• Using the 6x7 rule: no more than six words per line and seven bullet

points per slide.

• Use visual structuring instead of tables.

• Below is an example of visual structuring from the Microsoft video mentioned

at the start of this section.

Figure 1 An example of visual structuring.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/videoplayer/embed/RWfC6J?pid=ocpVideo0-innerdiv-oneplayer&postJsllMsg=true&maskLevel=20&market=en-ie




4 Accessibility Regulations 2018

• The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility

Regulations 2018 came into force in September 2018.

• These apply to public sector organisations' websites, including Higher

Education Providers (HEP).

• The regulations state that an HEP's website must be "accessible by

making it 'perceivable, operable, understandable and robust'".

• We have acquired a subscription to an online tool that Queen Mary staff

and students can use to make their documents more accessible. It is

called SensusAccess.

• SensusAccess is a great tool for enhancing readability in general.

• It may also help teachers improve their documents.

• Please access SensusAccess via this link:

http://www.dds.qmul.ac.uk/disability/sensusaccess/convert-a-document/

• SensusAccess have also produced several online learning modules about

digital documents.

• Module six is called “Designing and creating accessible documents". It is

particularly relevant to this guidance.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/852/contents/made

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/852/contents/made

http://www.dds.qmul.ac.uk/disability/sensusaccess/convert-a-document/

https://access.sensus.dk/elearn/sa/en-us/module6/story_html5.html?lms=1




Figure 2 A screenshot from the SensusAccess module, “Designing and creating

accessible documents”.



Dominic Hurst, Simon Jarvis and Ashleigh Brownsmith. End 24

Appendix 1: Avoiding the passive voice

• The passive voice tells us something is being done, rather than that

someone is doing something.

• It can be a difficult sentence structure for some readers.

• Those with language differences (e.g. non-native speakers) often do not

comprehend this structure.

Table 1 Examples of passive and active sentences.

Passive Active

The house was sold by an estate agent An estate agent sold the house

The show was watched by a large

audience

A large audience watched the show